Trump’s tweets ‘a gold mine’ for Mueller probe
The president’s running public commentary gives investigators real-time insight into the intent behind his actions – and could create problems for him or his aides.
.. the @realdonaldtrump account gives investigators a detailed timeline of Trump’s thoughts and opinions – including where they might differ from official accounts – and can also be used to establish intent, which can be critical in a criminal investigation.
.. The president’s warning last month to the fired FBI director James Comey, that he’d “better hope that there are no tapes” of their conversations, “could well be interpreted as an effort to intimidate a witness,” Forde added.
.. Legal experts say the president’s recent statements, including his admission to NBC News’ Lester Holt that he had the Russia investigation in mind before firing Comey, as well as his comment reported by the New York Times that Comey was a publicity-seeking “nut job” helps them paint a poignant picture of the president’s intentions.
“You could use those tweets to show the president was angry and frustrated by this Russia investigation, that he was furious that it was ongoing, that he didn’t think it was legitimate, that he therefore fired the FBI director to thwart it,” Zeidenberg said. “You could support that whole theory almost entirely on tweets and statements of Trump.”
.. The degree of attention Trump has given to the Russia probe on Twitter, Zeidenberg said, would make it challenging for the president’s attorneys to argue he wasn’t being serious on his social media account.